THE chief of a body charged with advising the government on the choice of the first super-casino reasserted his independence during a public hearing.

Prof Stephen Crow, chairman of the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP), was speaking in Cardiff, where the proposal of the city's local authority to be allowed to host a regional casino was being heard. Cardiff is one of seven shortlisted locations around the country the CAP is visiting, including Manchester.

The bid to establish a super-casino at London's Millennium Dome has been mired in controversy in recent months after Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was found to have stayed at the ranch of Philip Anschutz, the owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which bought the Dome in 2002.

Process

Prof Crow said: "John Prescott has played no part in our appointments or any role in setting up the process.

"We are objective and it's plain wrong to suggest otherwise. I've got sick of being given the story that is wrong time and time again.

"The press can say what they like about John Prescott but I don't want to be associated with it because it is just wrong."

Cardiff council wants to establish the regional casino within the International Sports Village it is constructing in the former dockland area of the city.